I am so so so so sorry it took me like a month to update this. I had terrible writers block and it took me a while to get past it so I hope you will find it in your hearts to forgive me.
Just wanted to say a quick thank you for all of your lovely comments and PM's. I love hearing from you and appreciate your continued support of this story.
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XxX
She was too stunned by his words to resist the kiss that he gave her. His lips were warm and soft as they touched hers, just as she remembered them from the last kiss they had shared. She yearned for another kiss from him for so long; to feel his mouth against hers once more was a next to heaven.
His kiss was passionate, possessive, hopeful and vulnerable. When he had declared himself to Caroline as hers and hers alone he opened himself to her. To him no woman would ever be her equal and no woman would have the same hold of his heart as she did.
His tongue traced the seam of her lips begging entry which she granted much to his surprise. His tongue plunged without reservation into her mouth plundering her sweetness, taking everything she had to give and then some. He physically shuttered when she responded to him, her tongue flicking against his, tasting him as he tasted her. His body was instantly hard with want; Caroline always managing to have him teetering on the edge of his control with her sweet responses to him.
Unable to resist the urge to touch her he slid his hands along her arms and pulled her closer to him, her belly bump preventing him from having her body flush against his own. Not that he let that stop him; his hands were everywhere, her back, her arms, the sides of her breasts. He teased her with his touch, enjoying the soft sighs and moans that he managed to capture with his kisses.
Her own hands came up to his chest, stroking the hard planes of his muscles before sliding to trace the breath of his shoulders with her fingertips. A soft growl against Caroline's lips was testament to the affect she had on him by her touch alone making her heart pound in her chest.
She broke the kiss, her head falling back as she fought for her breath. Both of them were breathing hard yet Klaus did not take the time to catch his breath but used the opportunity to attack the sweet soft skin of her neck. His mouth and teeth nipping and sucking at the succulent flesh that was on display before him. The sweet sounds that escaped Caroline's mouth made him groan, his desire increasing with every single whimper, gasp, sigh that parted from the soft pink lips of his lover. Caroline's fingers threaded through his dirty blonde curls and pulled his head up, pressing her lips to his once more for another headed kiss.
It was in the middle of their kiss as he came to cup her face that he felt wetness against his hands which at first confused him as to why her face would be wet until he realized what the wetness was: tears. Sometime in the middle of their kiss her tears had started to fall silently. He broke their kiss and pulled back slightly so that he could fully look at her and what he saw broke his heart, her lashes fluttered as she opened her eyes to reveal a look of sadness that he had seen glimpses of, but she had always quickly covered it up with a look of hatred. Now her eyes reflected nothing but the heartache that he alone had caused her.
"Love, please don't cry." Klaus pleaded as he shifted slightly to the side so he could bring her upper body against his chest, her face tucking into the hallow between his shoulder and neck as her hands came to rest against his chest. One of his hands rested against her bare neck as his other hand gently rubbed circles along her back just holding her as she cried silently against him.
This was so different than when he had seen her in the laundry mat as these tears were silent and the sadness in her eyes more palatable. He pressed tender kisses against her temple and rocked her ever so gently, and even though he felt ever so guilty that he was the cause of her sadness, the guilt increasing tenfold as he found himself relished in the pleasure of holding Caroline against him.
"You ruined it." Caroline said so quietly he almost didn't hear it as her lips were against the skin of his neck making him shudder involuntarily at their movement.
How could he say something like that? How could he tell her she was it for him when he had wronged her so badly? Again she was hit with the sadness that if he had only stayed with her that they could have been happy. To have him kiss her like he did and his confession that she was it for him broke her heart into a million pieces.
"You left and you ruined it." She spoke again.
Klaus sighed as he took the keys from the pocket of her cardigan, unlocked the door and led her inside. Putting her keys and purse aside he guided her over to the couch where he sat down and pulled her gently into his lap. Her arms curled around his neck, tucking her face against the hollow of his shoulder as one of his arms rested along her back the other resting against the curve of her belly.
They sat that way for who knows how long, her silent tears soaking his shirt as his hands slid across her body in soothing strokes trying to ease her sadness. The fact that she felt any sort of contentment with Klaus holding her just added to her misery. She loved the feel of him against her, his strong arms around her making her feel cared for, making her feel safe.
It was a while before her tears finally dried up. Her arms still anchored around his neck, her face still buried into his chest taking deep breaths. She loved the way he smelled. He smelt like the forest in Virginia, just after it had rained. He smelled like home.
"Sweetheart?" Klaus inquired softly as he continued his calming strokes against her body.
"Hmmm?" She said quietly against the soft skin of his throat. Her fingers stroked the back of his neck idly, enjoying the feel of his golden brown curls against her fingertips.
He dipped his face down to the curve of her shoulder to nuzzle the delicate skin there before pressing soft kisses along her collar bone. Her breathing hitched as his lips touched her bare skin, her fingers squeezing his neck in response.
"Have I truly ruined my chance to be with you, love?"
Caroline gave a slight shrug of her shoulder, other than that she stayed still within his arms, her face still tucked safely against his chest. Klaus sighed deeply at her answer and tightened his arms around her pulling her that much closer to him.
After a while Caroline finally spoke, her voice soft and quiet against his neck.
"You know what you have to do if you even want the chance at making amends with me."
Caroline felt him tense under her, his muscles straining as he tightened his hold on her once more. It didn't need to be said what exactly he needed to do in order to get a chance at making things right with Caroline, as their fight from this morning was still fresh in both of their minds.
Stefan.
It was like a record; they just went around and around as neither of them were willing to budge from their position. Klaus released a dejected sigh as he had foolishly thought that his declaration of telling Caroline that he was hers that she would soften a little bit. He had hoped that she would allow at least some other way of making things up to her, but she was as steadfast in what she wanted as she was this morning. This was going to force him to seriously think about the whole Stefan situation for the first time as he honestly thought he could get somehow get around it.
Of course just thinking about Stefan made him want to hit something and that something being Salvatore's face. Before Klaus could further indulge himself on his violent thoughts he felt Caroline shift in his lap and she slowly untangled herself from him to bring herself to her feet. Klaus stood up with her, his hands on her arm and back as he helped her up.
A frown pulled at his face as he looked at Caroline's face. She had black trail's running down her cheeks from her mascara and tears. Her eyes were swollen and red, and he could see the dark circles under her eyes. It pulled at his heart that he had caused this, that he had caused her pain. Unable to help himself he cupped her face with his hands, his thumbs sliding over her cheeks to wipe away the remnants of her tears.
Caroline's hands came up to cover his, her dark lashes lifting as she met his gaze. Again there was a pull at his heart as he looked into her azure eyes and found the sadness and vulnerability. With a sigh he leaned forward and pressed a kiss against her forehead. His lips lingering on her skin for a moment before he pulled back and released her face.
With that he turned and made his way out of the flat leaving Caroline to drop listlessly onto the couch left to her own thoughts to mull over everything that happened within the last 24 hours.
Klaus burst through the entry way of the building, his face a mask of anger and guilt. When he had told Caroline that she would be the only woman he would ever want he had expected anything but tears. At first he had thought that she was pleased with his declaration, especially when she had kissed him back. She had told him that she had loved him and he had hoped that she might still love him and maybe even say as much.
Yet when she had broken down in tears it tore at his black heart having his girl falling apart on him when she should be smiling. Because isn't that what girls do when a man makes a confession like that? At least that is what he thought it should be. He had no experience with this sort of thing. His women were disposable, his "parents" relationship had been a joke, and his siblings hardly knew to how function in a relationship anymore than he did, save Finn, and that relationship was boring, unlike his relationship with Caroline that had been filled with smiles, laughter, wit, fire and passion. Well at least it had been.
He wearily rubbed his forehead with his fingers as he jumped into the Range Rover. He didn't even know what to make of their last conversation. She had shrugged when he had asked if he had truly ruined any chance with her, which worried him. It wasn't a yes or a no, but when she spoke she had talked of amends. Even that morning she had talked about becoming friends. The only problem being with that wish was that he did not want to be friends with Caroline; he wanted her as his lover, in his bed and at his side.
Yet, she was resisting everything he was doing to try and get back into her good graces, at least to the point where she wasn't immediately throwing him withering glares but biggest roadblock she was throwing in his path was Stefan bloody Salvatore. It had been a month now and she still had not relented one inch on Salvatore. He was almost impressed with her loyalty and her tenacity, as he had honestly thought he would be able to sway her back into his arms without having to allow Stefan back into the country. His conversation with her today ensured that he could kiss whatever hope he had of that happening goodbye.
"Fuck." Klaus groaned in exasperation.
"Sir?" The driver asked as he flicked his gaze to the review mirror to check on his passenger, who just gave him a hard glare and the driver quickly returned his eyes forward towards the road.
Klaus had no idea how the hell he was going to allow Salvatore back into the country without having some kind of fallout that was going to be more hassle than it was worth. However, circumstances being what they were it would seem he would have no choice if he ever planned on Caroline giving him at least a chance to make things right.
He was pulled away from his thoughts as the SUV came to a stop outside the high rise that was his home. He was out the door and striding into building, most of the guards in the lobby giving him a wide birth as they all were smart enough to recognize the mood that their boss was in, as it usually led to violence should anyone get in his path.
Once Klaus was through the front door of his penthouse he immediately made his way into the study and to the bar that housed an array of liquors. With harsh movements he flipped a glass right side up and splashed a few fingers of scotch into the tumbler, the liquid spilling mostly onto the counter top of the bar. With a growl he slammed the bottle down and threw back the liquid in one gulp, the liquid burning a fiery trail down his throat.
Without a pause his tumbler was back onto the bar top and the decanter tipped once more to spill its contents haphazardly onto the glass.
"A little early to be drinking, don't you think, brother?"
Klaus snorted at his brother's commentary and downed the glass in another gulp, a sigh as he finally started to feel the effects of the amber liquid.
"And it is a little too early for you to be playing concerned older brother, Elijah." Klaus quipped bitterly as he set his glass down and refilled it once more.
Elijah frowned at his younger brother as he made his way into the study. Dark brown eyes watching his brother as Elijah unbuttoned his suit jacket and took a seat on the leather chesterfield couch that sat center in the room.
Klaus turned once his glass was once refilled, this time taking actual sips from the glass as he faced his elder brother with a look of distaste on his handsome face.
"You know why I am here, Niklaus."
Klaus just arched a brow and decided that sipping his scotch was a terrible idea and went back to downing the contents with one gulp before refilling his glass once more.
"Caroline and my baby are not up for discussion, Elijah."
"I happen to disagree, Niklaus. This child is a Mikaelson and is every concern of this family."
"We both know that I am not a Mikaelson, nor is my child." Klaus growled acidically.
"You are my brother and your child is part of our family, as is Caroline."
Klaus said nothing as he flung himself against one of the chairs across the room, holding tight to his glass of scotch.
"I can protect my girl and my child without your help."
"I never said you couldn't. But this is something we have to discuss so we can take them into consideration."
"There is nothing to take into consideration."
"I disagree. With The Five breathing down our necks and the other syndicates constantly challenging us, we need to make sure that we have our areas of vulnerability covered, especially since we have lost Stefan."
Klaus growled under his breath at the mention of Stefan.
Elijah watched his brother carefully, mulling over the topic he was about to bring up for a moment before speaking.
"Kol was right wasn't he? The day that you fought with Stefan, it was about Caroline." Elijah asked, voicing a question he was pretty sure he already knew the answer to.
Klaus averted his eyes from his brothers, a guilty look on his face as he lifted the tumbler of scotch to his lips and drowned the contents in one swift gulp. It was all the acknowledgment that Elijah needed to know that his assumption was correct.
"What did you do brother?"
Klaus scowled as he got up from the couch and made his way back to the bar, refilling his glass haphazardly before turning to face his elder brother. Although his face was a mask of anger and his eyes reflected the shame for what he was about to confess to his brother.
"I – " The words got stuck in his throat and Klaus took a breath before he tried to speak once more.
"I played at being Caroline's boyfriend so that I could sleep with her. And once I slept with her I left."
Elijah just shook his head and looked down at his hands for a moment, he wanted to be stunned at his brother's actions, but he couldn't because he well acquainted with the selfishness the drove his brother.
"The fight with Stefan was a result of him coming to punish me for my sins against Caroline." Klaus said sardonically as he took another drink from his glass, well on the way to becoming tossered.
Elijah sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes, unable to look at his brother at the moment. It was any wonder that Caroline was so hostile towards Klaus. He had seen how she had shrugged off his arm as well as turn away from him with a frown when he had talked about working on mending their relationship.
"There is one thing I do not understand, Niklaus. If you had only meant to bed the girl then why are you trying to get back together with her? Is it only for the child?" Elijah asked as he dropped his hand from his face, eyes opening to meet his brother's gaze.
Klaus met his brother's chocolate brown eyes before dropping his gaze to look contemplatively in his glass, swirling the golden liquid around for a few moments before answering.
"No, it isn't for the child… I –" Klaus paused looking for the right words.
"I care for her….deeply." Klaus hated to admit his feelings to his brother. He had told his brother long ago that love was a weakness, so to confess that he cared for someone was something that pained him greatly. He was pretty sure the only reason he was even telling Elijah was because of the amount of liquor he had consumed.
Elijah lifted his brows in surprise, not expecting the answer Klaus had given him.
"Did you feel this way before or after she became pregnant?"
"Before."
"Is that why you left her?" Elijah asked as he tilted his head slightly to the side watching his brother carefully. Elijah knew his brother better than Klaus knew himself and knew his feelings about caring for someone who was not family.
Klaus gave a curt nod of his head before downing the glass of scotch and turning to refill it. At this point it crossed his mind that it would be more efficient to just drink straight out of the bottle, but didn't act on it given he didn't want to deal with the looks Elijah would give him if he did as much.
Elijah lifted his eyebrows as he tried to wrap his mind around the neurosis that was Klaus, his fingers lifting to rub at the creases in his forehead.
"Why allow yourself to have her now? If you left because you cared for her, then what has changed that you are now allowed to be with Caroline?"
"She is family now." Klaus said with a slight slur
Elijah slowly closed his eyes and allowed his face to drop into his hand, shaking his head from side to side as he came to terms with what his brother just confessed. Swallowing once, Elijah lifted his head to look at his brother once more who was standing a little unsteady on his feet.
"You mean to tell me that you would have never gone back to Caroline had she not been pregnant?"
"Family above all, brother." Klaus lifting his glass in a mock toast before taking a drink.
"You bloody idiotic fool."
Klaus paused with the glass tilted half way to his lips as he registered the words his brother had uttered, brow lifting up sharply as he dropped the glass from his lips and looked to his brother for explanation.
"Do you mean to tell me that you would have denied yourself happiness just so you would not appear weak?"
"I was weak once brother, I will not be weak again."
Elijah was up on his feet at once, moving to stand in front of his younger brother and placing a hand on his shoulder as his wise brown eyes looked upon Klaus.
"The way our father treated you was unforgiveable, but you have to understand that everything he said about you was completely untrue. You were not weak then nor are you now."
"Your father, not mine."
"He still was the only father we had."
"A father that hated me."
"How long will you allow that to rule you, Niklaus?"
Klaus growled and threw his glass across the room, the tumbler hitting the wall and shattering into pieces.
"You know nothing!" Klaus roared as he stepped up, brining his face dangerously close to Elijah's, his eyes bright and his breathing heavy as he stared his brother down. Elijah remained stoic and unflinching as he met his brother's harsh glare.
"You think that because father did not love you that no one will. That is why you fear it, you are afraid that if you allow yourself to love someone that they will not love you back. That is why you only allow yourself to care for family; it is a guarantee against that vulnerability of opening yourself up."
Vulnerability. That word alone was enough to make Klaus clench his hands into fists. He hated how right his brother was. Mikael had said again and again how no one would ever care about him; so it was only a matter of time before Klaus believed his words to be true. Not wanting to ever have to face the truth of someone he cared for not caring for him he created a defense. He would not allow himself to care for anyone other than his family; it would keep him from ever being hurt.
It was an easy defense to have, because the way to avoid caring for people was just not to connect to them. He kept things on a superficial level with everyone save a very few such as his friends Marcel and Stefan. And even then the relationship was mostly built off of their shared interest around the business.
It was when Caroline came along that he was actually forced to connect with her. He had fooled himself into thinking that it was just a game with her and that he could keep his feelings tucked safely away. Yet his game turned into reality and he found himself falling in love with her. He tried to lie to himself, denying he felt anything for her yet his heart said otherwise.
There were times that he actually hoped she would hold out for as long as she could so he could have that much more time with her. Yet he could not regret that night he spent with her, it was honestly the most amazing sex he had ever had and it wasn't because she was more skilled or more beautiful than other women he had been with. The sex was amazing because it wasn't emotionless. Caroline had once let it slip that she had loved him and it helped him piece together what was so different being in her arms versus some nameless woman. It explained why he couldn't even fuck let alone kiss another woman after he had been with her because Caroline had been the first time he had ever slept with someone that he cared about and she had cared about him in return.
"You were a fool brother to deny yourself a chance to be happy all because of what father said. You are not a monster, Niklaus. Having a heart does not make you weak." Elijah said as he squeezed his brother's shoulder.
Klaus closed his eyes at Elijah's words. Was he a fool? Had he allowed Mikael to rob him of his happiness once more? Caroline's voice floated into his head, a reminder that he had ruined what they had together. The woman who meant everything to him had only told him hours ago that he had ruined things between them. Although there was a small chance he could fix things, a small chance that she would allow him to even try and fix things between them.
The very thought of Stefan Salvatore made him seethe in anger, but if he wanted to have a chance to make things right with the woman he loved he would have to allow him back. His pride battled fiercely at the very thought of allowing his enforcer back into the country, but it might be his only chance.
Breathing harshly, his mind a whirl wind of thoughts, Klaus jerked out of his brothers hold and moved towards to the bar grabbing the bottle and stormed out of the room needing time and space to think.
Elijah gave a deep sigh, watching his brother walk out the door.
XxX
This chapter was pretty emotionally heavy and we also see the method behind the madness that drives Klaus – so let me know your thoughts on it.